ART BASEL MIAMI

Jeffrey Deitch Presents: Beth Ditto of The Gossip, The Raleigh Oasis, South Beach

Art Basel Miami Beach
4 – 7 December 2008
South Beach, Miami

The Seventh edition of Art Basel Miami got off to a running start with a private view on December 3rd at the Miami Beach Convention Center. From there on celebrations fired up all over South Beach with Jeffrey Deitch stoking the coals at the Raleigh’s Oasis where he hosted a party featuring The Gossip fronted by Beth Ditto, who came to fame in 2006 when the NME named her the “coolest person in rock!” The Kingpins warmed it up for Ditto who came crashing onto the stage belting out one feminist anthem after the next spliced with vaudevillian style comedy bits slagging off Republicans and championing same sex marriage.

Other highlights from the week included Diana Al-Hadid in THE STATION curated by Shamim Momin and Nate Lowman; The Rubell Family Collection’s current exhibition 30 Americans; the Pig presents, a group show at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin; David LaChapelle’s Jesus is my Homeboy at Wolfgang Roth; Art HK 09’s breakfast reception at the Sanctuary with a interesting talk on Asian Art by Dr. Charles Merewether; Kelly Klein’s launch of Horses at the Raleigh; tarSIZ cocktail reception to celebrate the publication of Rachel Feinstein’s new book; The Krug-sponsored Visionaire Magazine launch on the sand at the Raleigh; Interview Magazine’s soiree on the plaza of the Miami Art Museum—the drive-in movie style screening of the new issue highlights was supremely staged.

As the week came to a close, Franca Sozzani hosted an elegant dinner to celebrate the new edition of L’Uomo Vogue at Casa Tua; and locals Al Gillio and Paul Bernstein invited an eclectic mix of art world-ers to their waterfront pad for a late-night gig. As if anyone had time to visit the upteem art fairs surrounding the big fair not to mention Design Miami – bored yet?! When all’s said and done if it’s truly the new best thing you’re in the market for, the NADA Fair at the Ice Palace was where it was at.

THE METAL BALL

Performa Founder Roselee Goldberg with Artist, Cindy Sherman 

PERFORMA Presents THE METAL BALL a spectacular one-of-a-kind PERFORMA Benefit Event, Saturday, November 15, 2008 at Cedar Lake, West Chelsea, New York

Roselee Goldberg, Founder of Performa, a non-profit multidisciplinary arts organization exploring the critical role of live performance in contemporary art took Chelsea by storm on Saturday evening with The Metal Ball, a dazzling benefit event held at Cedar Lake on West 26th Street. The Metal Ball, inspired by the Bauhaus’ 1929 Metallic Festival, when the famous school was decorated entirely in metallic colors and substances as guests reveled in an exuberant festival of music, light and action. On Saturday night, a similar atmosphere was re-created with the help of the talented Light + Stage Design with props and art direction by the Fluxus expert and artist, Zach Rockhill. Special performances by Dorit Chrysler, Jesper Just, DJ Nick Hallett, Scissor Sisters band member Ana Matronic, electronic music group Spiral Blaster, contemporary dance duo robbinschilds and a hilarious act from performance artist Dynasty Handbag. Many of the guests stepped up to the plate and donned metal—silver, bronze, gold—and for those who couldn’t quite pull it off, an Emergency Sewing Project under the direction of fashion designer Carlos Soto was on tap to create instant metallic couture. The evening took a poignant turn when short documentary films were screened on Performa honorees: Philanthropist Toby Devan Lewis and filmmaker and artist Isaac Julien. Each honoree received a unique award designed by the artist Adam Pendleton. Pendleton personally awarded Toby Devan Lewis and Thelma Golden presented Isaac Julien with his Adam as the award is fondly called. More information is available at www.performa-arts.org

ARTWALK

Artwalk Co-Chairs, Cary Lowell and Richard Gere

ARTWALK NY BENEFITTING COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS CELEBRATES ITS 14TH ANNUAL AUCTION BENEFIT WITH A TRIBUTE TO ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG, November 3, 2008, Metropolitan Pavilion, Chelsea, New York.

TERANCE KOH

Art Dealer Mary Boone with Terence Koh

Vito Schnabel curates Terence Koh’s Flowers for Baudelaire, Wednesday, November 13, 2008, New York City.

In 2005, Olivier Sarkosy, half-brother of the French President bought a building on New York’s upper eastside that was formerly the studio of Richard Avedon for $6.5 million. Last night he and his wife Charlotte graciously opened the doors to unveil Terence Koh’s Flowers for Baudelaire. Curated by Vito Schnabel, the exhibition, an installation of paintings that Koh constructed from corn syrup and powdered sugar are hung in salon groupings on sloping gessoed walls creating a ghostly atmosphere.

In an anteroom to the Avedon studio, guests were asked to remove their shoes before pulling back the floor-to-ceiling white vinyl curtain to enter the exhibition. To celebrate the event, a crowd of artists, curators, dealers, fashion designers and muses headed upstairs to the living quarters of the Sarkozys where the walls are lined with books and an art collection including works by, Basquiat, Haring and Banksy. Champagne and canapés were served and as the crowd mounted, people spilled out onto the double-barrel terrace and partied way beyond dark.

Flowers for Baudelaire Open Tuesday-Thursday, 11-6pm Through January 2009 407 East 75th Street New York, NY 10021

PROSPECT.1 NEW ORLEANS

Prospect.1 Curator, Dan Cameron

PROSPECT.1 NEW ORLEANS: 81 Artists 39 Countries 23 Locations 11 Weeks 1 City

A Tale of Two Cities could best define the landscape in New Orleans. On arrival last Thursday for the preview of Prospect.1, we checked into one of the oldest hotels in the French Quarter, a rather fine example of proper Creole Greek Revival architecture, situated less than a block from Bourbon Street, where people still get all mashed up on Jack Daniels and beer until the wee hours. Southern blues rock and cover music blaring from the bars but not a trace of Katrina. It’s a different story altogether in the Lower Ninth Ward. The area has been nearly abandoned—ravaged by Katrina. Amongst some of the best site-specific contributions in a district where more compelling works of art stand is Mark Bradford’s Ark, a monumental sculpture that takes as its core the shell of a destroyed house, built out with discarded scraps of wood and ephemera.

To really get a feel for New Orleans and Prospect.1, head down to Frenchmen Street in the Marigny, where you can rent bikes at Michael’s. There’s an easy-to-read Prospect.1 map and with an early start you can take in just about all of the biennial with the added bonus of being knocked out by the architecture – shotgun cottages, double-gallery colonials, Creole mansions —even in the Lower Ninth a few gems still remain standing.

Prospect.1 New Orleans is the largest biennial of contemporary art ever organized in the United States and is produced by U.S. Biennial, Inc. under the direction of international curator, Dan Cameron, Director of Visual Arts at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) in New Orleans. www.prospectneworleans.org